"On this earth there are pestilences and there are victims ... one must refuse to be on the side of the pestilence"—Camus

April 05, 2014

Indonesia: Supari in trouble over H5N1 scandal

Siti Fadilah Supari is the inspiration for the Supari Prize, awarded as needed to a politician or bureaucrat whose policies are health hazards to his or her constituents. The prize itself is a sack of hammers, tastefully tied with red tape.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday officially named former Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari a suspect for her alleged involvement in a scheme to mark up the price of crucial medical equipment at the height of Indonesia’s bird flu emergency.

KPK deputy chair Bambang Widjojanto said the commission had received a sprindik — a document marking the start of an official investigation — declaring Siti a suspect.

“As far as I’m concerned the letter has been signed,” Bambang said on Friday.

The letter indicates that the KPK will put more focus onto a graft case that first emerged two years ago and start a new investigation from scratch — which means KPK investigators will not recycle evidence gathered by the National Police for the police investigation.

“We will start over,” Bambang said. “We can’t use their investigation — we can use it only as a reference — but I do not believe that will be a problem.”

The KPK previously filed to seize Siti’s property after it emerged in court that the former health minister had reportedly accepted Rp 1.2 billion [US$106,000] in bribes from medical supplier Graha Ismaya.

The company handed over Rp 4.97 billion [US$440,000] in Bank Mandiri traveller’s checks to secure the contract to outfit the ministry’s crisis-response center with equipment as the country struggled to control an outbreak of bird flu that eventually left more than 100 people dead in the deadliest H5N1 outbreak in Southeast Asia.

Siti has maintained her innocence, claiming her subordinate made her look like she was involved in a procurement of health equipment that failed to follow procedures. The medical procurement graft reportedly cost the state some Rp 6.1 billion in losses.

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Indonesia: Supari in trouble over H5N1 scandal

Siti Fadilah Supari is the inspiration for the Supari Prize, awarded as needed to a politician or bureaucrat whose policies are health hazards to his or her constituents. The prize itself is a sack of hammers, tastefully tied with red tape.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday officially named former Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari a suspect for her alleged involvement in a scheme to mark up the price of crucial medical equipment at the height of Indonesia’s bird flu emergency.

KPK deputy chair Bambang Widjojanto said the commission had received a sprindik — a document marking the start of an official investigation — declaring Siti a suspect.

“As far as I’m concerned the letter has been signed,” Bambang said on Friday.

The letter indicates that the KPK will put more focus onto a graft case that first emerged two years ago and start a new investigation from scratch — which means KPK investigators will not recycle evidence gathered by the National Police for the police investigation.

“We will start over,” Bambang said. “We can’t use their investigation — we can use it only as a reference — but I do not believe that will be a problem.”

The KPK previously filed to seize Siti’s property after it emerged in court that the former health minister had reportedly accepted Rp 1.2 billion [US$106,000] in bribes from medical supplier Graha Ismaya.

The company handed over Rp 4.97 billion [US$440,000] in Bank Mandiri traveller’s checks to secure the contract to outfit the ministry’s crisis-response center with equipment as the country struggled to control an outbreak of bird flu that eventually left more than 100 people dead in the deadliest H5N1 outbreak in Southeast Asia.

Siti has maintained her innocence, claiming her subordinate made her look like she was involved in a procurement of health equipment that failed to follow procedures. The medical procurement graft reportedly cost the state some Rp 6.1 billion in losses.